A key advisory panel for the Food and Drug Administration voted against recommending Pfizer COVID-19 booster shots for people 16 and up, but endorsed a third shot for people who are 65 or older, or are at high risk.
The vote comes as another setback to the Biden administration, which announced its plan to make Pfizer and Moderna booster shots available to Americans eight months after their second dose.
The Food and Drug Administration will make a final decision.
New CEO at CPS
Lightfoot announced Pedro Martinez will be Chicago Public Schools’ next CEO, though his appointment must be approved by the Board of Education.
Martinez comes from San Antonio, where he was chief of its school district. Martinez will be the first Latino person to lead the district — where he was once a student. He is also CPS’ former chief financial officer. Martinez worked under then-CEO Arne Duncan.
“This is the time for us to come together,” Martinez said Wednesday. “We have to be united. We cannot be fighting within ourselves. The enemy is COVID. The enemy is the systemic racism we've had in our country. The enemy is poverty. There are many enemies. We are on the same side."
Gardiner Fallout Continues
Alderperson Jim Gardiner apologized to City Council for profane and misogynistic text messages on Wednesday. This comes as he faces a federal probe into pay to play bribery allegations. The Chicago Board of Ethics also found probable cause Gardiner violated an ethics ordinance twice.
State’s Attorney Looking into Park District
Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx is investigating the Chicago Park District’s handling of sexual assault and harassment allegations by lifeguards, WBEZ reports. This comes as the park district’s inspector general Elaine Little announces her resignation, after a WBEZ report on investigations she faced while working at Cook County’s juvenile jail. Little was leading the investigation into the allegations of sexual abuse.
Guests
Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ | @dmihalopoulos, @WBEZ
Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat Chicago | @MilaKoumpilova, @chalkbeatCHI
A.D. Quig, Crain’s Chicago Business | @ad_quig, @CrainsChicago
Tahman Bradley, WGN TV | @tahmanbradley, @WGNNews
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